The Best Looking Cakes In Town

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Category: Shopping Apps

A few years after visual search technology was started, Pinterest finally implemented the feature. Currently, the social platform has not less than 100 active million users one year after it started operating. This latest move by Pinterest shows the growing trend where less text and more images are used during a web search. It also shows a huge significance that is played by players on content and social engagement to improve shopping. However, one thing is completely clear; that the relationship between brands, retailers and consumers has radically changed as a result.

Gone are he days when retailers used to push ads to reach consumers. Nowadays, they just use image recognition to achieve even better results. Though it is still a bit early to see how customers are likely to react to the Buy buttons on social media, there is some evidence that shows that the eCommerce visual space is gaining traction at a very fast rate.

Many industry players started using visual search technology almost an year ago so as to make it much easier for their shoppers when matters related to finding products more effectively are concerned. In general, the technology has shown a lot of improvement when matters related to improvement in the conversion rate are concerned.

Being a major driver of shopping interest, shopping has evolved and nowadays, people are more likely to be intrigued by visual content as opposed to text. Visual content is appealing and many refer to it as a source for consumer intelligence.

Through a mobile app, the company allows customers to take a photo with their mobile phone, search the image of the product, discover where they can find it and eventually buy. The company’s Universal Scanner has since inception been a straight forward solution that uses the most accurate image recognition technology currently available. The technology brings together the best features of their competitor’s products and packages it in a single product.

The company’s technology is able to handle different dimensional images therefore giving retailers a solution that is easy to use and that provides instant results. When integrated with a retailer’s inventory, the technology is able to show them the products that are moving fast and those that are not. On the other hand, the technology allows customers to enjoy shopping.

Slyce, the Toronto-based startup, is looking to take the technology that Amazon’s Flow introduced to a new level. Rather than just finding information for the product from one retailer, Slyce is designed to instantly recognize and find information on a product from all retailers. Simply take a picture of the product you desire to find more about and Slyce will find the product and list prices from as many retailers as can be found. Products can even be identified independent of their packaging and labeling.

This integrated app promises to make shopping far more convenient for the consumer, connecting them with multiple retail options. For example, a consumer could see someone holding a handbag that they liked. With Flow, the consumer would have to get a detailed picture, including the logo, to identify it. With Slyce, the design focuses on unique details of the product, in this case perhaps the stitching pattern or color saturation, rather than the logo.

At present, Slyce is partnered with five of the top twenty retailers in the U.S. with the goal of expanding following the conclusion of their pilot program.

The key component of Slyce’s visual search, and what sets it apart from its competitors, is the utility of the product in a dynamic, fluid setting. Rather than just being able to identify stationary objects in perfect lighting conditions, Slyce hopes to be able to identify products outside of the ideal photogenic conditions. The average consumer does not have time to sit around and snap pictures of products. Rather, the idea is that Slyce users can utilize the app on the move. Imagine being able to take a picture of a person who is walking past you and being able to identify, and purchase, everything in the picture.

Recently, Slyce acquired Tel-Aviv company Pounce to integrate the unique features of that app into its own. This acquisition now allows Slyce to work with both retailers and consumers in order to provide a more connected shopping experience. On the retail end, this app now works to help create a working inventory just by taking pictures of the products on its shelves. On the consumer end, the user can snap a picture in a catalog and be able to find out whether or not the retailer has it in stock, and if so, order and checkout with the push of a button.

Current investors for this product include Beacon Securities, Pi Financial, Salman Partners, Harrington Global and more.